Archives for May 25, 2017

Brig. Deshapriya Gunawardene, who commanded the group that shot at the residents at Rathupaswala who carried out a peaceful agitation demanding drinking water, has been arrested by a special unit of the CID.
With the arrest of the Brigadier a short while ago the number of Army personnel arrested regarding the incident increases to four. Brig. Gunawardene is to be produced before Gampaha Magistrate today.
Three, including two school children, were shot dead and several injured when the agitation was shot at on 1st August, 2013.

World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) has expressed its solidarity with the farmers of Sri Lanka who have not been paid the promised drought compensation by the government.
The letter sent by George Mavrikos, the General Secretary of WFTU that represents 92 million workers in 5 continents and the international class oriented trade union movement “stand on the side of the farmer community, supporting their fair demands.”

A letter by the Ministry of Education to zonal education offices instructs to take measures to display President’s photograph in all schools.
The letter also states the necessary photographs could be obtained from the Ministry.

Protesters demanding the resignation of Brazilian President Michel Temer staged running battles with police and set fire to a ministry building in Brasilia yesterday (24th), prompting the scandal-hit leader to order the army onto the streets.

Police unleashed volleys of tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets to halt tens of thousands of protesters as they marched towards Congress to call for Temer’s ouster and an end to his austerity program.
Masked protesters fired powerful fireworks at police, set ablaze furniture in the Agriculture Ministry, and sprayed anti-Temer graffiti on government buildings.
It was the most violent protest in Brasilia since anti-government demonstrations in 2013 and fueled a political crisis sparked by allegations Temer condoned paying off a potential witness in a massive corruption probe.
Temer is struggling to retain power after the release of a recording that appears to capture him approving hush money for a convicted former lawmaker. Brazil’s top court is investigating him for alleged obstruction of justice and involvement in passive corruption. The president has denied wrongdoing and said he will not resign.

Within the 24 hours ended at 5.30 a.m. today Galle and Ratnapura districts have received heavy rains say reports. Both districts have received a rainfall of over 100 mm. According to a special announcement by the Department of Meteorology South – West Monsoon has set in and the Southern and Western parts in the island could expect receive heavy rain.
The announcement states Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Central and North – Western areas could expect thunder showers and heavy rains. They could be strong winds in the areas predicts Met Department.
Meanwhile, the Disaster Management Centre today (25th) issued a special weather advisory for heavy rain falls for the next 48 hours. It said South west monsoon conditions are establishing over the country and showers or thundershowers would occur at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Central and North-Western provinces. Heavy falls of more than 150 mm can be expected at some places. There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers.

The JVP Leader Anura Dissanayaka says various elements are creating a situation to arouse communalism and religious disharmony in the country in a bid to push the country towards a Sinhalese – Muslim clash and blamed the government for not taking timely action to curb and control the incidents created by unruly elements during the past few days.
Speaking in parliament yesterday (24th) he said the government, instead of acting fast and nipping the trend in the bud, was displaying a very impotent and ineffectual attitude to the very dangerous issue which would, if not stopped immediately, would push the country towards another bloodbath. He said there are serious doubts in the minds of the general public that the government that is unable to confront the social and economic problems, is making an attempt to use the violent incidents to divert the mounting public displeasure against it.
Mr. Dissanayaka said, “The majority in the country abhor this kind of violence. They do not like to see the country being pushed towards communal disharmony. People have had enough of this problem. Only a small minority contributes to violent activities. They may be instigated and supported by various interested parties. However, it is the duty of the government to act fast and prevent the country being pushed towards another calamity by these groups.”

He said despite there were reports of arson attacks and damages to properties including mosques and shops during the last several days, the government has done nothing to find culprits and to prevent such acts and added that the government has not been able to arrest a single person involved in several incidents of arson carried out against religious places and business establishments.
He also said the government has failed to prevent the deforestation that is taking place in Wilpattu and the destruction of places of archaeological importance in the East. As a result some other organizations making use of the mass anger against such acts have come forward to stage protests and carry out various actions.
He said if the government doesn’t do anything to stop the on-going incidents of communal violence there would be mass uprisings and people would take law into their hands